Three semifinalists of the Champions League secured victories on Day 6 of the Quarterfinal Stage.
Marseille was the only semifinalist to lose today, allowing Novi Beograd to return to first place in Group A. Novi Beograd will face Barceloneta in the semifinals of the Final Four in Malta (May 30 – June 1), while Marseille will play against the title-holder, Ferencvaros.
Olympiacos defeated Marseille 12:8 in a highly anticipated derby of Round 6 of Group A in Piraeus. Novi Beograd triumphed over Jadran in Split with a score of 15:7 and, with Olympicos’ help, climbed atop the group.
The favorites in Group B recorded comfortable home wins. Ferencvaros beat Oradea 20:10, and Barceloneta taught Savona a lesson 17:10.
2024/25 Champions League Quarter Final Stage, Round 6
Group A
Olympiacos – Marseille 12:8 (4:1,1:1, 4:4, 3:2)
Olympiacos: Gkillas 3, Loncar 2, Zalanki 2, Nikolaidis 2, Genicounias 1, Fountoulis 1, Pouros 1.
Marseille: Crousillar 2, Spaic 2, Vernoux 2, Velotto 1, Bouet 1.
Olympiacos played for pride, while Marseille aimed to maintain the top spot in the group. The Greeks approached the match with great seriousness, eager to avenge their 7:12 defeat in Marseille and to prove their quality. They played a very good match. This was maybe their best performance in the Quarter Final Stage. But, it came too late.
In the opening two minutes, center-forward Dimitrios Nikolaidis converted two man-up opportunities, giving Olympiacos an early 2:0 lead. Spaic put Marseille on the scoreboard, but by the end of the first quarter, the hosts added two more goals from Gkillas and Loncar, resulting in a 4:1 lead. Marseille strengthened its defense in the second quarter but struggled to catch up with Olympiacos. The Greek team’s defense held strong. Goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas was outstanding. He posted eight saves in the first half, and added six in the next 16 minutes.
At halftime, Olympiacos had a 5:2 advantage. Just after the break, Luka Loncar converted a man-up opportunity, widening the gap to 6:2. Midway through the third period, Olympiacos led 9:4, creating a five-goal cushion. Marseille refused to give up and launched a 3:0 run. Thomas Vernoux scored during a man-up situation, narrowing the score to 7:9 in the 25th minute. However, Olympiacos responded quickly, scoring three consecutive goals to extend the lead to 12:7 with three minutes and 38 seconds remaining. At this point, there was no way back for Marseille.
Jadran Split – Novi Beograd 7:15 (3:4,2:5,1:2, 1:4)
Jadran Split: Cuzzi 4, Berehulak 1, Cagalj 1, Pavlovic 1
Novi Beograd: Gladovic 3, Lukic 3, Radovic 3, Martinovic 2, Krstic 2 Skoumpakis 1, Vlachopoulos 1.
Jadran’s primary goal this week is to prepare as best as possible for the 3rd match of the Croatian final, and didn’t want to risk that some of the key players get injured in the last Champions League match. This fact was evident after the rosters were announced. Captain Marinic Kragic, goalkeeper Bijac, best scorer Fatovic, Butic, Zovic – didn’t play for Jadran this evening. Therefore, Novi Beograd had a task that was easier than expected. The visitors were without injured Milos Cuk.
The visitors quickly earned a 2:0 lead. But, Jadran’s young players wanted to prove themselves and didn’t have a white flag. The hosts leveled at 2:2 and at 3:3. Still, Novi Beograd had a slim 4:3 lead at the first break. Novi Beograd opened the second quarter with three straight goals to earn a big 4-goal advantage in the 13th minute (7:3). The visitors maintained the difference until the 3-minute break. Novi Beograd continued dictating the pace in the second half and doubled the advantage. Young players, Gladovic, Krstic, and Martinovic contributed many goals to Novi Beograd’s win, while the best scorer was the new Jadran’s hope, Duje Cuzzi, with four goals.
Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 15, 2. Marseille 12, 3. Olympiacos 7, 4. Jadran S 2.
Group B
Ferencvaros – Oradea 20:10 (5:1, 6:4, 5:1, 4:4)
Ferencvaros: Argyropoulos 3, Vin. Varga 3, Mandic 2, Manhercz 2,Ad.Nagy 2, Vamos 2, Ak.Nagy 2, Vismeg 2, Molnar 1, Pohl 1.
Oradea: Gardasevic 5, Belenyesi 1, Luncan 1, Gusarov 1, Vancsik 1, Velkic 1.
As expected, Ferencvaros left no chance to Oradea. The title-holder earned a 5:1 lead in the first quarter. Oradea narrowed the gap to three (2:5, 3:6). In the middle of the second period, the Hungarians extended their lead to 5 goals for the first time. Marton Vamos made it 8:3. Oradea scored four goals in this period, but it wasn’t enough, as Ferencvaros controlled the match and the result. Vince Varga stretched the margin to six – 11:5 in the last second of the first half.
Krisztian Manhercz (Ferencvaros) Photo by Laszlo Balogh
Playing without pressure, Ferencvaros reached a double-digit margin already in the third period (15:5). The hosts had an 11-goal lead in the final quarter (17:6, 19:8, 20:9). After the final buzzer, “only” ten goals separated the rivals. Almost all field players of Ferencvaros got on the scoresheet, but the best scorer was Filip Gardasevic, who netted half of Oradea’s goals.
Barceloneta – Savona 17:10 (3:1, 4:1, 5:3, 5:5)
Barceloneta: Granados 3, Tahull 3 Sanahuja 2, Vigvari 2, Burian 2, Gomila 2, Munarriz 1, Biel 1.
Savona: Vavic 4, Rizzo 2, Rocchi 1, Figlioli 1, Merkulov 1, Erdelyi 1.
Barceloneta dominated the match right from the start, taking a 3-0 lead. Although Savona managed to narrow the gap with scores of 1:3 and 2:4, the game turned into a one-sided contest midway through the second period. The Spaniards launched a 6:0 run. In the 21st minute, Tahull made it 10:2, effectively sealing the contest.
Standings: 1. Ferencvaros 16, 2. Barceloneta 14, 3. Savona 6, 4. Oradea 0.
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